Claimed by the Dark Souls of VHA

Chapter Seventeen

AVA

My head is spinning right now.

Marissa.

Him and Marissa.

I storm past Ryder to get the hell out of dodge because right now, I can't face any of them. Who am I kidding right now? All of this happened way too fast. From Ryder to Alex to Christian, the intense feelings were all there, the damn magnetic attraction, but what has that shown or even proved to any of us? That the s*x was mind blowing to say the least and that there is some kind of bond between us. That's it.

This is exactly why I chose to withhold any s****l activity between us. I needed to get to know them better. I needed to see their hidden truths, what they struggle with if they chose to divulge in such stories, and how they are overall minus the s*x. This past month between Ryder and Alex have been moments where I could finally accept that there is something unique between us.

We all have suffered in one way or another and just being together draws our darkness to the light and that is where we feel at most at peace. We don't think about the past or how the future can change. We purposely live in the now when we are with each other.

The only one I needed to get through to was Christian. It felt wrong without him. His brothers missed him. I missed him. I tried so hard to get him to pay attention to me. I tried approaching him but he wouldn't even look at me. I noticed how he would leave the room each night knowing I was there. Just like I knew he was continuing to keep an eye out for me, I would continuously keep an eye on him while he would drink himself into oblivion in the back of the cafeteria, always clutching the damn vodka bottle.

Tonight I was done with his bullsh!t. It was complete nonsense the way he was acting towards me and towards his brothers. He wasn't in my body that night. He didn't understand the wave of emotions coursing through me, cutting me down bit by bit. Everything was crashing down on me and I was being crushed inside out. The only way out was letting go. I wanted to let go. I won't lie about that. I welcomed the f!cking Grim Reaper to take me but my three saviors fought him off and brought me back.

There was a reason I was brought back and I'll be damned if Christian continues to wallow in his whatever it is he is doing because of me. He needs to go back to his brothers and stop ignoring their requests to help him. I need him to stop being a giant asshole and just let the past remain in the past. I am better now. All it took was baby steps and talking to those that were willing to listen, but I am getting there and the last piece of the puzzle I am missing is him. Forget that sh!t now.

He found his missing piece.

Down the throat of f!cking Marissa.

I try to shake the images away but they just remain there in my brain.

Why, Christian?

Why?

I reach Emma's room, my sisters room, even though it's still hard to believe that I have a sister, to help diffuse the ticking time bomb that is within me now. The day after my incident was when my biological mother decided to spill the beans to her and at first, it was a tough pill to swallow. She felt the usual feelings. Betrayal, heartbreak, confusion, basically the whole none yard of emotions.

Eventually, she came to terms that her mother had made an unfortunate mistake with me, but also realized that she did everything in her power for her, so she was slowly coming to terms with it, and, so was I. Am I still upset about everything? Of course. However, knowing I have a family right here is all I need to power through it all. The only thing stopping me from truly being happy is the devil trying to get his grubby hands on me. Emma knows the truth however, our mother doesn't. Not sure how she would be able to handle that information without blaming herself all over again.

I am about ready to knock on her door when I see it cracked open slightly. The lights are off and I instantly become wary.

Something's wrong.

"Emma?" I call out her name but nothing. I slam on the light switch to find her room like a stampede had barricaded right through it. Furniture has been tossed about, everything in shambles. I begin to panic.

No, no, no.

This can't be happening.

I was supposed to watch out for her.

I search through the wreckage in her room until I stumble upon a note left for me I am assuming, along with specks of blood. My hands ball into fists thinking he has hurt her. All because of me.

Hello my angel. My boys thought they could hide you, keep you safe, but they failed to realize the meaning of never taking their eyes off you, or your loved ones. If you ever want to see your sweet, innocent sister alive again, you will come to me. If not, I'll send her back to you in pieces. Come to me my angel, back to where it all began. - V

The immense rage coursing through my entire body is at the point of explosion. This is my battle. Nobody will get hurt further because of me. I know the boys put a tracking device in my phone so I smash it beneath my foot not needing them to be my dark knights in shining armor. I drop my duffel to the ground, just taking the cash I had saved from various jobs I took to make money and stuff it into my pocket. I take the knife Alex had given me and stuff that into my boot. This sh!t is going to end tonight, one way or another. I take off without another thought.

He wants me to meet him at the place where it all started, then so be it.

******************************************************

It takes me a bit to run to the local diner parking lot to hot wire a car to make it back to the hell hole that I swore I would never return to. I park right out front, leaving the keys in the ignition. I stare at the building that harbors every single bad memory and storm up the stairs to get to my old apartment. I peak through the blinds but I cannot see a damn thing. I brace myself and kick the door in.

"Emma!" I find her tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth in the living room. I rush over to her but hear the c*****g of a g*n behind me.

"There she is, in record time might I add." Victor says closing the door behind him, and standing in front of it with the g*n pointing straight at me.

"You have me. Let her go." I stand, not showing any sign of backing down. He raises an eyebrow at me and the evil smirk plastered on his face makes me cringe.

"You think it's going to be that easy angel? You think I will make anything easy for you after the sh!t you have put me through?" He says in a stern voice.

"You want me so take your anger out on me. Not her. She has nothing to do with any of this!" I see the panic in Emm's eyes and my heart bleeds for her but she will not be subject to Victor's wrath. I'd lay my life out for her.

"This sh!t ends now Victor. I will no longer run from you. You win. Let her go and take me." I watch as he looks to me, then to her.

"I'd rather not. Why take one angel when I can have two?" I gulp down the bile rising to my throat and shake my head.

"You will not f!cking touch her!" He storms over to me and slams the g*n right on my temple while wrapping his other hand around my throat, squeezing it. He brings his mouth to my ear.

"You seem to f!cking think you have a f!cking say in what I want here angel. You are damaged goods to me right now, having f!cked all my boys, but the thought of having you at least once makes me so f!cking hard. Knowing your sister is absolutely innocent is more of a turn on than I thought it would be." He pushes me to the ground, still aiming the g*n at me. I crawl around the chair, faking being hurt and reaching slowly for the knife in my boot. I open it while Victor advances towards Emma, assessing his next target. He runs the g*n up her thigh and she screams into the gag that is in her mouth. I grip her fingers and squeeze, letting her know everything will be okay.

"Mmm. You look just as delicious as your sister you know that? You both will submit to me. I will get what I want." He says maniacally. Through his little distraction, I manage to cut her loose. She knows that she is basically free but won't show her cards yet. I go to stand and the g*n is directed at me again.

"Uh uh angel. No quick movements or you'll be dead and your sister will forever be mine." He grits out, rage, anger, and hatred all swirling around in his eyes. I slowly make my way to him, with my hands raised, trying to show him I am not a threat. The g*n is still pointed towards me but I don't back down.

"Why me Victor? You had the woman that adopted me. Why make a move for me?" I ask, seriously curious. Besides, distracting him is in Emma's best interest right about now.

"Your whatever she was to you was mine first. I told her I wanted nothing to do with the other woman regardless of he fact that she was pregnant with my son. I wanted your mother, but no, she decided to skip town and live the life of a w***e. I tracked her down and saw that she was more of a mess than I could ever have imagined not even caring for you in the least. I made sure you had everything you could need. When I saw you all grown up, I knew the greatest revenge against her was taking someone that was ten times the woman she could ever be. It gnawed at her. That much I could see. She was merely a waste bucket for me. Now you, you were a prized commodity that I needed to have." I stare at him expressionless.

"Do you know what she did to me when you left? She abused the sh!t out of me. I was a precious commodity to you? I must've not been that precious for you to allow her to beat me senseless. I was a f!cking child you sick bast!rd! You had three sons that you could have spent your life caring for but your obsession with revenge ruined all that for you. They hate you with a passion, you know that right?" I spit out, needing some sense of closure against this asshole.

"You seemed to have turned out just fine." Is all he says. I release a sigh to bring is back to the point in which I need Emma to get out of here. My insides are burning with revulsion with what I am about to do but I would do just about anything to keep this bast!rd away from the ones I love. I just hope they will all accept my choice of what I am about to do.

My biological mom, sister, Alex, Ryder, and Christian all deserve more than this piece of sh!t in their lives, and I am the only one that will be able to take him out without anyone else getting hurt.

Little does he know that Emma is now free and has the knife that I set her loose with. She continues to act as if she is prisoner and I commend her bravery. Just a moment longer and then I will issue the command for her to escape. Hopefully, my plan will work.

"That was the past. This is the present. Victor, I'm right here. Right in front of you. Let me in. I know you are mad and I am sorry for running. I was just scared." I am mere inches from his face but at least he has the g*n pointing down and seems to relax with the sound of my voice. My hands roam up his arms and I can feel him tense beneath my touch. His eyes morph into those of need and want and that is exactly where I want him.

I bring my hands to his face and cup his cheeks, forcing his eyes to stare into mine. I turn him so he isn't aware of what Emma is doing. I brush my lips against his and I swear if I get out of this, I am going to dunk my whole body in bleach just his stench off of me.

"I'm right here Victor. Take what you want." I say softly. His walls crumble momentarily and his lips descend upon mine. I turn him so he is now facing away from the door. Emma has made it and I watch as she opens the door slowly and carefully. She looks at me with torment in her eyes and I rip my mouth off of his and yell.

"Go! Car is in front! Run!" I watch as she runs faster than a speeding bullet and I am momentarily relieved until the swing of the g*n is landed across my head. I fall to the floor only for him to kick me in the stomach over and over.

"You think you bested me you w***e! Once I kill you, I'll go back for her and I will make her mine over and over! Her screams will resonate around the walls where she will never see the light of day again!" He yells while yanking me by my hair and dragging me across the ground. The pain is overwhelming but the thought of him r****g her over and over fuels my desire to fight. I kick out my legs and he trips, falling right on top of me. I sink my teeth into his shoulder and don't let up until I taste copper in my mouth.

"You b!tch!" He punches me in the ribs and goes to punch me in the face but I maneuver out of his way having his punch land onto the floor. I leap to my feet in agony but this isn't going to end until he is f!ckong dead. I grab a hold of everything in my sight to throw at him.

"You will never have my sister! You will never hurt your sons ever again you f!cking asshole!" I yell throwing the lamp at him which he blocks. I am like a rabid human being needing his blood on my hands. I want to see the life drain out of his body. No person like this should even exist in this world.

He rams towards me, crashing into me while the air is knocked straight out of my lungs. He searches the floor for the g*n he had lost during our scuffle and I force myself to get my sh!t together. I go to stand and try to reach for the other lamp I can smash on him. I grab it but it shatters when he shoots right at it, then aiming the g*n right at me.

"Looks like you are at a loss here angel. It's been a pleasure but, I have a new angel to look for, courtesy of you and your aunt, may she rest in peace though." He says almost sounding winded from our fighting and my eyes widen with the words he just said.

"You killed her!?" I gasp, slightly saddened.

"Oh, angel, don't act like you care. She could have saved you from all of this. She could have saved you from your b!tch of a mother. She could have saved you from the likes of me, but, she didn't. She made you suffer through a lifetime of hurt and despair. She deserved to die, now, so do you." I prepare for him to pull the trigger until three voices distract him for the slightest second allowing me to gather every ounce of strength within myself to surge forward and pounce on him, taking the shard of glass from the lamp he had shot and plunge it into him repeatedly. The g*n goes off but he is down and I am on top of him stabbing him in his throat, his stomach, his chest. I watch as the blood spurts from his throat but I don't stop. I keep going. I keep going, screaming, shouting whatever words are coming out of my mouth until strong arms pull me off of him.

"Shh. Shh. You're okay baby. Relax. We got you. It's over." I don't process the words but try to break away to get back to the scumbag on the floor.

"It's not over! Let me go! Let me go!" I scream, writhing in whoever's arms are wrapped around me.

"I said let me go!" I break free and crawl back to the bast!td lying there, and I see he is slowly breathing.

"Hey, look at me." I see Alex bending down to grab my chin with his fingers to look at me. I just stare into his eyes.

"The rest is on us. Okay?" He let's me go and I watch as all three of them hover over their father. I crawl backwards, giving them the space they need. I'm sore all over but I can finally try and bring my breathing back to a normal pace.

"Looks like the devil has been brought down, by an avenging angel none the less." Ryder says in a tone that warrants a shiver to spike down my spine.

"You caused us all hell father. You thought you broke us, but you merely made us stronger. We had each other and now we have her. You will never exact pain on any of us. Ever again." They all seem to have their own guns and each of them pull the trigger.

I remain against the wall, the adrenaline flowing through me still that I failed to realize the gunshot wound to my stomach. It isn't just his blood on me but mine too. I put pressure on my wound but it doesn't stop the bleeding.

"Guys." I say but my voice is barely a whisper from the all the yelling and tackling. Christian orders Ryder to clean up the mess and Alex to hack the security footage. He heads to me with such a satisfactory look on his face until his own face pales.

"Ava? What's wrong?" He looks down to see me holding my wound and curses.

"No, baby. No. Not again. Keep your eyes open." He orders and shouts for Ryder to drop whatever it is he is doing to come help him.

"Emma?" I croak out and Christian smiles and that is all I need to know that she is safe. We are all safe now.

"I'm just going to close my eyes for a little bit, okay?" I say but Christian doesn't accept that response.

"No you don't. Eyes on me baby. We're going to get you to a hospital and you're going to be okay. Talk Ava. Talk to me. Yell at me for the sh!t I did tonight. Yell at me and tell me you'll never forgive me. Go ahead. Tell me. Please." He says, the defeat in his tone breaks my heart but I feel everything slipping away.

"I...I lo..love you..all...all of you..." is that last thing I say before darkness takes over. The light that beckons me is right there. Just ever so close. Maybe I can finally be at peace.

Just maybe.